Schindlers, Terri's Supporters Say Goodbye to a "Remarkable Woman"

By Dave Andrusko

Five days after Terri Schindler Schiavo's death by dehydration, at least 800 mourners gathered at an emotionally charged funeral Mass to remember a brave and loving woman whom they said taught them how to live.

There were so many who wished to pay tribute to Terri and to the entire Schindler family that the overflow crowd at the Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church extended into the church's vestibule and outside where the mourners sat on folding chairs and listened to the service over loudspeakers.

The service celebrated the life of a woman who died March 31, nearly 14 days after her husband secured permission for the third time to disconnect her feeding tube.

After her death, Michael Schiavo went through with his plans for cremation, which had been vigorously opposed by the family. But in death, as in life, the family was powerless before the trial Judge George Green.

As her legal guardian, Schiavo announced that her ashes would be buried at his family's plot. At the time of the April 5 service, which took place in Gulfport, Florida, Schiavo had not yet told the Schindlers when or where he would conduct his own memorial service.

Among the speakers was Terri's sister. "I am sorry, though, that pure love alone was not enough to keep you from harm," Suzanne Vitadamo told the crowd.

"You are a remarkable woman," she said. "Your smile brought us great joy. You have shown the world what perseverance and determination are all about."

According to the Florida Baptist Witness, eight priests and three deacons participated in the service. A retired Army chaplain, Gen. Thaddeus Malanowski, led the services. Msgr. Malanowski visited Terri weekly in the five years before her March 31 death and administered last rites to her.

"Terri Schindler showed us how to live. She showed us the gift of life and how we should share it," Msgr. Malanowski said.

Speaking near the end of the two-hour Mass, Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler Jr., held up a Purple Heart medal sent to the family a few days earlier by a Vietnam veteran.

According to the Witness, Bobby quoted the letter's author who said, "We believe God is testing the U.S.A. and its people," adding that his heart was "shattered" by the manner in which Terri's life was taken.

Terri's death was in one sense a culmination. The Schindlers and Terri's estranged husband engaged in a titanic legal struggle that went on for over seven years, up and down the legal ladder.

There were motions after motions in state courts, numerous appeals to the state Supreme Court, a last-minute flurry of activity in various federal courts, and six unsuccessful appeals to the United States Supreme Court.

Simultaneously, the Schindlers sought help from the legislative and executive branches. Prodded by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in 2003, the Florida legislature passed "Terri's Law," which gave Gov. Bush the authority to reinsert Terri's feeding tube which had been removed six days previously.

That law was eventually declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court. Last-minute efforts to pass another measure to save Terri failed narrowly in the Florida state Senate.

Gov. Bush tried many other routes, including intervention by the state Department of Children and Families to investigate possible charges of abuse. But as regularly as Gov. Bush tried to intervene, he was rebuffed by the trial Judge Greer.

Meanwhile, in a remarkable display of bipartisanship, Congress passed a law which gave Terri's parents standing in federal court to attempt to enforce her rights under the Constitution. However, the federal appeals courts were as unsympathetic

as Greer. In the end, to the immense frustration, disappointment, and sadness of the Schindlers and all of Terri's supporters, all attempts were thwarted.

As explored in more detail on pages two and three, the crux of the case was two-fold. Was Terri in a so-called persistent vegetative state (PVS) and what were her wishes?

Judge Greer uncritically accepted the diagnoses of those physicians who judged Terri to be in a PVS, and uniformly rejected those who said Terri was probably in a "minimally conscious state" or who wanted additional tests to be undertaken.

Likewise, only Michael Schiavo, his brother, and his brother's wife said they heard Terri say, prior to her 1990 accident that left her with massive brain injuries, that she would not wish to live "artificially." That recollection did not surface until after the Schiavos won a medical malpractice suit of more than $1 million.

Judge Greer gave no credence at all to the testimony of Terri's parents and friends that Terri had said no such thing and, in fact, had made remarks that suggested just the opposite.

But out of Terri's tragic and wholly unnecessary death may spring something hugely positive: a reexamination of state and federal laws as well as medical practices that do not afford adequate legal protection to vulnerable patients.

Florida state Senator Daniel Webster worked with others to try to pass legislation to protect Terri. He attended the April 5 service and told the Witness that Terri's "memory lives on," and that "he was comforted by the tremendous show of support for the Schindlers."

Webster added, "This has definitely grown to be a cause people will rally around. I don't think anybody wants it to happen again."

Florida state Rep. Dennis Baxley told the Witness that the fight's not over.

"In many ways, it's an end, and in many more ways it's a beginning," Baxley said of Terri's life and death. "The conscience of a nation has been touched and a new respect for life has been born."